Contents

History

Summer reading programs began in the 1890s as a way to encourage school children, particularly those in urban areas and not needed for farm work, to read during their summer vacation, use the library and develop the habit of reading.

Themes

The American Library Association does not set the themes for summer reading programs held at many public libraries nationwide. These may be set by the individual library or by the state library. Many individual or state libraries use the themes set by the Collaborative Summer Library Program (CSLP), a grassroots consortium of states working together to provide high-quality summer reading program materials for children at the lowest cost possible for their public libraries.

Malin, Ginger Goldman. "Facilitating a Summer Reading Book Group Program." English Journal. (High school edition). Urbana: May 2007. Vol. 96, Iss. 5; pg. 58, 6 pgs. Abstract (from ProQuest): Summer book groups enhance and sustain student literacy behaviors over the break, making available an enjoyable social forum for critical-thinking and critical-reading practices to occur naturally. Significantly, the book groups grant faculty and students an informal space to connect meaningfully through reflective discussion of texts.

These are some older resources that might be useful in planning programs:

Sample Programs

Sample Booklists

Teens & Summer Reading

The Young Adult Library Services Association (YALSA), encourages libraries to promote the Teens' Top Teen Nominations as a part of their summer reading program. Each April during National Library Week YALSA posts the lists of nominated titles. Teens can read the nominations all spring and summer so they can vote online for their favorites in Aug. & Sept. and the winners will be announced during Teen Read Week (the third week of every October). The ten titles with the most teen votes become YALSA's official Teens' Top Ten list.